Every year I evaluate the best water ionizers available for that year. I use several techniques to determine the best alkaline water. Note: there is no single "best water ionizer", because everyone has different needs and wants.

I will try to break down the list of all best water ionizers, with brief summaries explaining their features. You can see the real differences and decide for yourself which is best for you. The water ionizer brands are in order of what I think are best. Read what I say to see for yourself how the actual information fits your definition of best for you.

AlkaViva

The water ionizers I think are best are the AlkaViva H2 water ionizers. AlkaViva makes 9-plate, 7-plate and 5-plate water ionizers, to suit your budget. They produce water that is the best alkaline drinking water. UltraWater Filters are the best filters on the planet.

AlkaViva also makes the only under-sink water ionizer I recommend, because they never leak.

One reason I think AlkaViva Water Ionizers are best is the strength of their water cells. They are the heart of the water ionizer. The whole inside of the water ionizers are more resistant to hard water damage than any other ionizer. They never develop leaks over time, even when directly-plumbed to water pressure.

Depending on your water source, the 9-plate AlkaViva Vesta H2 is usually what I advise. But, all the AlkaViva water ionizers are superior among their competitors.

Inside the Alkaviva water ionizers is expert technology. The alkaline drinking levels deliver the highest levels of h2.

The ionization process also continuously cleans inside the water cell so it's like-new forever. You never have to wait for alkaline ionized water because it's cleaning the water cell. This one feature saves you time, saves you filter-life, and increases the function, life and performance of the water ionizer .

The AlkaViva H2 water ionizers test better than the Enagic K8 and the other competition.

Superior filtration is another feature that makes AlkaViva water ionizers best. UltraWater filters will remove 99.99 percent of all contaminants. These are the best water filters in the world. 

Ionia

Ionia manufactures the Super S12 water ionizer, which gets levels of H2 similar to the H2 ionizers. It also has two water cells, rather than just one (which combined hold 12 plates total). It is excellent for strength, efficiency, power, and versatility in getting any kind of water you want.

The water cell is not as strong as the H2 water ionizers, but it's close. None of the Ionia water ionizers are capable of under sink installation.

The Super S12 has a saline port and the ability to make super strong (hospital strength) acidic sanitizing water.

The Super S12 is similar to the Enagic SD501 or Enagic K8, except it's far better. You don't have to buy a special solution to put in the port. The strong-ionization function is better than any of the Enagic machines. It disengages the filter during the strong-ionization so as not to waste the filter life.

The filtration in the Super S12 is also advanced. The only better filters on the planet would be the H2 UltraWater filters.

The S12 uses a combination of continuous-cleaning, but also periodically does an extra acid-wash. This design makes sure the performance is always perfect.

The Super S12 is the largest of the water ionizers I sell. I give the dimensions on the product page, and you should make sure it will fit on your counter before buying.

Jupiter

Jupiter is about the oldest water ionizer. It used to be the most innovative of the water ionizers for a very long time.

The Classic Athena can use a variety of filters, including AlkaViva's advanced UltraWater filters. It also has a form of continuous-cleaning that is very effective.

Smart

The Smart Water Ionizer is fairly small but very powerful in producing H2. It probably gets the best level of H2 of any water ionizer on the planet.

The Smart 9P can't use UltraWater filters, but the single filter options are good ones. This may save you money if you only want one filter. It has continuous-cleaning, which is a big deal, because that means the water cell will always perform at peak levels.

The Smart Water Ionizer uses a diverter at the faucet. It is not wise to install it under the sink or hook it up directly to the water pressure. If you do this it may develop a leak. 

Nexus

Nexus is an Ionia ionizer and is one of their oldest brands. Long ago the manufacturer (Ionia) wanted me to never sell the Nexus X-Blue for less than $1400. I convinced him to allow me to sell it for lower, because I wanted it more affordable. He allowed it, and ever since then I have kept the price low for this very reason.

The X-Blue has most of the features of the much more expensive water ionizers.

It has only one filter and uses a decent style of acid-wash self-cleaning. This is not as advanced as continuous-cleaning.

The X-Blue also gets pretty good ORP, although not nearly as good as the water ionizers listed above.

The X-Blue Water Ionizer uses a diverter at the faucet. It is not wise to install it under the sink or hook it up directly to the water pressure. If you do this it may develop a leak.

Enagic

The most expensive water ionizers on the market are the Enagic K8 and SD501.

The K8 is newer, but not much of an upgrade from the SD501. The only difference, other than color, is the fact it has one extra electrode.

The K8 doesn't perform very much better than the SD501. Its performance is lower than the AlkaViva and Ionia water ionizers.

Enagic filters are basic carbon filters. They remove sediment and heavy metals, but not all chemicals and toxins.

Enagic uses a saline solution port to make a stronger acidic water (for cleaning purposes). It is a unique and handy feature. The machine gets a very low acidic water.

A danger with using saline is that it can corrode the ionizers plates. I explain more about this on my Water Ionizer Comparisons page.

The only water ionizer I sell that has a saline port is the Ionia Super S12.

Though expensive, the Enagic water ionizer has a fairly simple design, which is easy and relatively cheap to copy.

• Simple dipped plates
• No flow-control knob
• No under-sink installation or direct plumbing connection possibility
• Simple reverse-polarity water-cell cleaning system
• Requires using a citric acid cleaning filter regularly to maintain the water cell
• And if you use the sodium port, you need to manually clean effectively after each use
• Simple carbon filter

Copying the Enagic Design

Almost all water ionizer manufacturers, have copied the Enagic design in one way or another. After all, except for the sodium port, it's an easy and inexpensive design to copy. Examples are: Tyent and Life in Korea; Chanson in Taiwan; and Bawell and Airwaterlife (or Aqua Ionizer Deluxe) in China.

Note: Forget about the Chinese and Taiwanese brands, they aren't good quality in parts, results or filtration. The Korean brands in this category use good parts.

Comparing Water Ionizers

This video will help you learn about and compare water ionizers. It's a supplement to my water ionizer comparisons page and my water ionizer reviews page. 

H2 Testing vs ORP Testing

H2 testing:

• Trustlex H2 Meter (specially designed to determine the H2 content of the water tested)
• H2 Testing Drops: The drops can be unreliable, so I use them sometimes but never really fully rely on their results.
• ORP Meter: This is not identical to the H2 level in the water. One needs to use a formula in conjunction with this meter.

H2 is related to the pH of the water, so when you raise the pH you will also raise the H2. When you raise of ORP per unit of the raise in pH it raises the H2 concentration (relative hydrogen). Without a meter or drops you can use the formula for relative hydrogen: rH = (ORP / 30) + (2 * pH).